East Coast Memorial, Battery Park
The United War Veterans Council, producers of the New York City Veterans Day Parade, is proud to mark Fleet Week 2019 by presenting THEY TURNED THE TIDE, our annual ceremony honoring service members who lost their lives in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

The event will take place at the East Coast Memorial in Battery Park (lower Manhattan), one of only two federal American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) memorials in the continental United States.

This year’s event marks the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Europe (1944 – 2019). Most Americans are familiar with D-Day, the Allied invasion of France, which launched the campaign to free Europe from Nazi oppression. However, without victory in the Battle of Atlantic, neither D-Day nor liberation would have ever taken place. Thousands of Americans, serving alongside our Allies, fought to clear the Atlantic Ocean of the deadly Nazi submarines which preyed upon Allied shipping. They made it possible for our nation to safely send over countless shiploads of troops, equipment and supplies to help free Europe from its oppressors.

The East Coast Memorial was erected in 1963 to memorialize the courage and sacrifice of these Americans. Its walls are etched with 4,611 names of service members lost in the waters of the western Atlantic, off the shores of the United States.

THEY TURNED THE TIDE will be one of the first public events for Fleet Week. The program will feature remarks from Rear Admiral John Mustin (U.S. Navy), Deputy Commander of U.S. Second Fleet. Other speakers will include representatives from the American Battle Monuments Commission, our World War II allies, and youth presenters. The event will conclude with a ceremonial wreath laying.

Attendees will include U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel as well as local veterans from all services and all eras. In addition, the audience will include local young people, including JROTC (Junior ROTC) cadets and students from schools in Downtown Manhattan.